While the assault team were running rampant, the rescue team were moving as fast as they could to save as many people as possible.
"Ugh?!"
Kira had cut down a Villain after a surprise attack. He silently stood over his body as Batu and Mikel emerged from underground using Bojana's powers. They swiftly moved to free the hostages and direct them on how to escape.
"Kira, what's wrong?"
Mikel asked Kira who was staring at the Villain he had defeated.
"Something feels off."
Mikel's eyes narrowed.
"Your instincts are never wrong. Do you have any idea what's wrong?"
Kira shook his head. Mikel turned to Batu.
"Batu, we might—"
His words trailed off as he spotted something flying towards the building.
"An RPG!"
He shouted and dashed towards the entrance. A mother and her child were the closest to the door. If the rocket hit anywhere close the building, they wouldn't escape unharmed. Thinking this, Mikel flew through the window and fired a laser.
*Boom!*
The rocket exploded and the force flung him back.
"Argh!"
He hit the ground and bounced off it.
"Mikel!"
With Bojana's panicked scream, the earth began to solidify while the hostages were still passing through.
"Bojana, focus!"
Batu's roar shook her and the ground softened again.
"Kira, protect the hostages!"
Batu rushed outside to reach Mikel, who slowly stood up.
"You good?"
Mikel nodded and looked around. On the rooftops were dozens of people holding RPGs, grenade launchers, and bazookas. They all had a familiar face.
"So the Villain inside was a clone and we were exposed to the real one after we took it out."
Batu mumbled.
"What do we do? Do we stall until Bojana move all the hostages? What do we do after that, now we're exposed?"
Mikel asked a barrage of questions.
"That depends on how much about us is exposed. Does the enemy share senses with the clones? If so, they know about our tactics and probably already informed their allies. If they don't and only came because they sensed their clone was taken out, then we're still good."
"So, do we fight?"
Batu smirked.
"You handle it."
He touched the building.
"I'll protect the others."
Orbs of light appeared around Mikel.
"Ok."
The clones fired a barrage of rockets at them. Batu swiped his hand in front of him and calmly walked inside. A chain of explosions erupted but neither the flames or the shockwaves touched the building, as if blocked by an invisible wall.
"Kira, go on ahead. I'll wait for Mikel."
Kira nodded and the floor slowly swallowed him up. Batu took a chair and sat at the entrance, looking at the flames, unable to reach him. Laser cut through the explosions and hit the rooftops. Batu smiled as Mikel appeared in the sky with the orbs dancing around him.
"Make your debut, Young Sovereign."
Mikel snapped his fingers and the orbs rained down lasers on the buildings. Explosion bloomed as the clones flew out of the flames and fired projectiles at Mikel. Lasers cut the projectiles and they all exploded around him.
"He's pretty tough."
Mikel mumbled as several clones appeared in the air surrounding him. Clones threw other clones at him as they attacked with blades and guns. Mikel spread his arms and he was engulfed in an orb of light. The clones' attacks bounced off the orb without reaching him.
"I can't take too long."
Mikel clasped his hands and the orb engulfing him fired a bombardment of lasers. The clones were cut and roasted as they fell from the sky. Mikel dove down and hit the earth. Lasers pierced through the ground and burst out of the floors of all the surrounding buildings. Light danced in a frenzy, boring through everything.
"AHHHH!!!"
A scream came from his right. Mikel gathered his lasers before firing at the source. A building was partially melted, leaving a trail of scorched earth. At the end of the trail was a man with half of his body missing and the rest charcoal.
"You took out the original."
Batu stood up and clapped.
"Not bad."
Mikel nodded with a smile.
"But you got rid of the only way to know if the other Villains caught on or not."
Mikel's smile fell.
"I'll control my output better next time."
Batu nodded and used his communicator.
"Belinha, we've reached the point where safely recovering hostages is no longer possible."
Elsewhere, Belinha floated in the sky while listening to Batu.
"I see. Then, let's change tactics."
She descended on the ground that was filled with craters and thugs.
"You guys protect the hostages you saved and we'll handle the rest."
"Roger."
Batu hung up and Belinha faced Mira and Impactor.
"Locate and eliminate those calling the shots in the city. Try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. If you're in a situation where it's you or the civilians..."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Pick you, that's the only way to ensure countless others will be saved."
The two nodded without hesitation.
"Good."
Flames danced around Belinha.
"Those with a bright flame, they're the enemy. Eliminate them without hesitation."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Impactor and Mira blasted off the ground and flew into the chaos.
"They're coming again!"
A Villain shouted while preparing to attack. Impactor moved first and fired an impact at him. He dodged, but Mira popped up beside him.
"So fas—"
Blood sprayed as his body was instantly covered in cuts. As he fell to his knees, his face was smashed by Impactor's knee. The two didn't stop. Impactor fired impacts at enemies the moment his eye landed on them. People were sent through buildings, and others were propelled into the distance. Mira's speed increased. She scaled the sides of the buildings with chainsaws for feet and quickly reached the rooftops.
She fired blasts from her palms and blew enemies away.
"Let's try a new trick."
On the ground, Impactor was clearing every enemy that stepped forward with kicks and punches. He jumped and hit a 8ft gorilla-like man with a punch.
"Double Impact!"
The gorilla man was blasted into a car and destroyed it.
"No!"
Impactor let out a shout of frustration.
"That was just a regular Re-Impact!"
He clenched his fist again.
"Well, whatever."
He looked at the enemies charging towards him.
"At least I have tons of practice dummies."
Mira scaled the side of a building and turned her arm into a chain. She swung the chain and wrapped it around a Birdman Villain. She pulled her out of the sky and slammed her into the wall.
"There are a bit more flying types than I expected."
She turned her arm into a rifle and fired at the Villains flying in the sky. She took out some while others evaded and charged at her.
"KAHH!!!"
A deafening screech rang and they all froze. Above them was a gigantic phoenix glaring down on them. The second their attention was drawn by the phoenix, shots pierced through their bodies without mercy.
"Don't get distracted."
Mira said before diving down. She landed on top of a Villain that was trying to escape Impactor. She ducked under a slash from behind and wrapped chains around her attacker's legs.
"Double Impact!"
Impactor slammed his fist in their face and they were blown away. Mira pulled the chains and slammed them into their comrades. She ran and swung them like nunchakus, swatting all enemies approaching.
"Enough!"
The city trembled as a gigantic reptile monster appeared and let out a roar.
"You brats take us for fools! Let me show just who you are messing with!"
Its voice resounded through the whole city.
"Looks like that's one of the Ruin Class Villains. I think I've seen him before. Can't remember his name though."
Mira said while looking up at the monster that was towering over all the buildings.
"He does look like he can easily flatten a city with that size, so I guess his rank is correct."
She looked at Impactor.
"Wanna team up or do you go solo?"
"I wanna solo!"
Mira grinned at Impactor's response and lifted her hand.
"Rock paper scissors?"
"No cheating."
"Me? Never."
They started playing the game to decide. The giant lizard looked down in shock.
"Are these motherfuckers really playing rock, paper, scissors?"
"Ridiculous, isn't it?"
"?!"
The lizard turned its head and Belinha was standing on his shoulder.
"I wanted to let them run wild a bit and get used to the feeling of being the dominant ones to boost their confidence....But they lost sight of their goal, to save lives. Do you know what's the most critical thing when saving a life, Firben?"
She wasn't paying the lizard any attention and just watched Impactor and Mira throwing the same signs over and over again.
"Blood Phoenix!"
Firben swatted his shoulder in a fit of rage. Belinha floated in front of him.
"Yes, reaction time. How long you take to save someone greatly determines if they live or dies."
Firben fired a blast of water from his mouth and levelled several buildings in front of him.
"Since time is gold..."
He looked up after hearing her voice above him. Belinha held her hand out while floating above him.
"We can't afford to waste it."
A small tree made of flames formed in her hand.
"So this is goodbye, Firben."
"Yeah, because you're gonna die!"
Firben swung his claws at Belinha and storm-like winds ruptured through the city. Yet, Belinha was unfazed.
"Compared to Alala and Sinvula, your threats are mere temper tantrums."
Belinha blew the tree from her hand and it floated above the city.
"Mamae, I'm borrowing your technique."
The tree stopped over Firben and a wave of heat washed over him. Belinha clasped her hands together in prayer and spoke softly—
"Életfa (Tree of Life)."
A blinding light flashed in the sky, chasing away all shadows in the city. The small tree grew into a godly tree with fiery branches, that stretched for hundreds of meters, bearing fruits resembling the sun and the stars. This beautiful tree engulfed Firben and his screams disrupted the celestial scenery.
"AHHHH?!"
He tried to move out of the tree, but his limbs turned into ashes when they moved. His body blackened as the moisture evaporated out of his body and he began to crumble. In seconds, the lizard that stood above buildings was reduced to be scattered in the wind in front of the world tree.
"........"
"......"
Impactor and Mira witnessed this scene and—
"Let's stop fooling around."
"Yeah, let's do that."
They made a wise decision.